How to transform the CEO-CMO relationship: From rivals to teammates

It seems like there is a constant tug-of war between CEOs, CMOs, and CMOs.

CEOs are looking for results. CMOs desire to deliver results.

What's the problem?

According to CEOs, the most important role of a CMO is to help grow the business. CMOs must deliver ROI and provide proof that their work is working.

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CMOs are often asked by CEOs to do trivial tasks, such as rebranding or paying digital ads. Then they get frustrated when there is no business growth.

Marketing that fails to work is not acceptable by CEOs. They shouldn't have. It is difficult for CEOs to see the difference between what will work and what won't. This takes time. This is the job of the CMO.

Only 34% confidence their CMOs. It makes sense that the two are tethered to each other on a rope while running in opposite directions, and suspend their ultimate goal of business growth.

They tend to have a very tense relationship. It would be much easier for them to learn to work together and achieve their common goal. How can CEOs and CMOs become teammates working towards the same goal?

The Key Takeaways

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  CMOs must take full responsibility for their marketing efforts and resist requests that don't benefit the company.
  
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  CEOs must give their marketing professionals a seat at their table. This will allow them to fully use their skills.
  
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  Teamwork is key to making dreams come true. Looking at the future together can help build trust between executive branches.
  

Let's first look at the common mistakes made by these executives.

Common Mistakes in CMOs

Don't let buyers' needs get in the way.

In the age of the internet, customer-focused marketing is essential. It is a fact that people don't care much about what doesn't directly apply to them. This sentiment is only amplified by the many options on the internet.

Are your customers truly interested in your latest plan to rebrand? Your customers may not care much about the color change from cyan to deep turquoise in your logo. It doesn't matter if your product is worth their time.

Marketers must focus 100% on the customer's interests and needs. CEOs are more likely to ask for remedial tasks such as rebranding or excessive paid social media advertising, which is a distraction from the real work.

Although it might be more credible to post about the award you have won, it is not worth investing any time or money in marketing it. You won't generate leads just by posting about the award, even if you are doing it for self-gratification.

Let's say you mention the award in a thought-leadership style article on future trends in your industry. Potential customers will be able to read the article and get new ideas for their daily lives. They also learn more about your industry credibility.

This situation allows the CEO to display their accomplishments and the CMO to use them to generate leads. This is a win-win situation, but it's not common in these situations.

You should leave enough research out of the conversation.

CMOs are responsible for conducting the necessary research to help a CEO make the right marketing decision.

The lack of feedback is one of the problems between the CEO and CMO relationships. Instead of blindly following the CEO's wishes, the CMO should find research that supports or derails the proposed effort.

CMO tenure is the lowest point in the past decade. CMO tenure is at its lowest point in the last decade. However, 80% of CEOs attribute this short tenure to CMO failure. This disconnect between what success actually looks like is quite remarkable.

CMOs can be helpful by pushing back against requests that they know will not work.

Let's take banner ads as an example. Banner ads don't work, according to research. Banner ads still see yearly increases in click through rates of 7%, despite having a click through rate at 0.06% (60% is accidental or bots).

This marketing campaign is clearly not working and companies are still wasting their time. This is true for many different digital ads. CMOs might avoid another failure if they did the research.

Common Mistakes CEOs Make

Do not be distracted by the shiny new strategy.

CEOs who have difficulty sticking to a strategy are also more likely to have trouble measuring or delivering results.

While the shiny new social media platform or aesthetic trend might seem appealing, it's not always the best thing to switch up from what you have already done research and worked hard on.

These decisions can be made in a collaborative manner with a CEO and CMO relationship.

They are trying to solve the problem before they fully understand it.

Hubspot refers to this as ‘tactical blindness'. This is a common mistake made by CEOs.

One of their marketing campaigns gained popularity a few years back. Their carousel ad campaign reached its target audience and generated high CTR. This is great but it's not a reason to assume that the same strategy can solve a new problem in another year.

There are many answers that may not be obvious at first. Marketing is constantly changing. A company's strategy must be.

What are some tips to improve the CEO-CMO relationship?

CMOs don't seem to be going anywhere. However, only 32% CEOs trust CMOs. This means that their relationship needs to be nurtured.

Take a team approach to the future.

They have the same goals so why play tug-of war with each other? They can achieve a lot more if the relationship between them is long-lasting.

The ability to develop growth strategies together can help you identify common goals and the best ways to achieve them. This will be a lot more useful than CEOs asking for what they believe will work, without the input of a marketing expert.

Align your company's goals with your marketing goals.

The CEO has the ability to integrate marketing goals and strategy into all areas of the company. This can help marketing professionals thrive.

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The payoff is enormous when all of the company's branches work together towards a common goal. These ideas are more likely to pay off if the CEO supports them.

There will always be tension between CMOs and CEOs. When it comes to success measurement, it is important that you are on the same page as your executive counterpart. Trust is built by having the same vision of success and the same approach to getting there.

How can CEOs and CMOs work together?

It is important to work together and align the company's goals with your marketing strategy. This ensures that your marketing is supported by the executive team, drives towards business goals and helps to make the annual budget discussion a little easier.

You need help in measuring marketing ROI so you can show your CEO you are aligned with their growth plans. Get in touch with our Content Builder Service to schedule a consultation.